RRND Email Full Text (Scheduled)


  • No One Can Control the Future

    Source: Reason
    by Katherine Mangu-Ward

    “[Bernie Sanders] proposed a one-time 50 percent tax on the largest AI companies, to be paid in shares held by a government-run sovereign wealth fund. The federal government would get voting shares, board representation, and the power to ‘block decisions’ it decides are bad for citizens. This is the worst idea Bernie Sanders has ever had, in a long and illustrious career of terrible ideas. … President Donald Trump’s economic nationalism has made federal ownership, veto rights, and backdoor nationalization feel terribly normal. His administration converted federal grants into a roughly 10 percent stake in Intel, using already-promised CHIPS Act and Secure Enclave money to make Washington one of the company’s largest shareholders. … The right calls it national security. The left calls it democracy. The results are the same: Washington wants shares, seats, vetoes, and a cut of the upside.” (for publication 08/26)

    https://reason.com/2026/07/02/no-one-can-control-the-future/

  • There Is No Originalist Rationale for Denying Citizenship to the US Born

    Source: The UnPopulist
    by Paul Gowder

    “The chief justice, writing for the court, achieved a competent version of standard originalism. Heavily relying on historical sources and historically informed amicus briefs, the chief points out—correctly—that the English common law rule that shaped the background of U.S. citizenship law treated all kinds of temporary visitors and even persons subject to expulsion as nonetheless capable of producing British children if those children were born within the territory. (Anthony Michael Kreis has recently written a comprehensive account of the development of this principle that is worth your time.) Roberts also correctly points out that the most natural reading of the word ‘jurisdiction,’ being subject to the laws of the United States, is that the framers of the Amendment meant what they said.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/there-is-no-originalist-rationale

  • Our Foreign Aid Programs Have Killed People for 50+ Years

    Source: JimBovard.com
    by James Bovard

    “While Elon Musk is being criticized for his role in slashing the budget of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), our foreign aid programs have been killing people for more than 50 years. American food aid has sabotaged foreign farmers since the 1960s, causing waves of bankruptcies and subverting foreign nations’ ability to feed themselves. I have been hammering this program since 1984.” (07/02/26)

    https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/07/02/our-foreign-aid-programs-have-killed-people-for-50-years/

  • The American Revolution Redefined Freedom Itself

    Source: The Daily Economy
    by Peter C Earle

    “Since 1776, at least 120 peoples have declared independence, echoing Jefferson’s universal claim about natural rights, self-government, and political legitimacy.” (07/02/26)

    https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-american-revolution-redefined-freedom-itself/

  • A Liberalism of Principle, Not Program

    Source: Liberalism.org
    by Janet Bufton

    “Slavery’s opponents knew how to keep things simple. Today’s liberals should do likewise.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.liberalism.org/p/a-liberalism-of-principle-not-program

  • They Fearmonger About “Communism” Because They Can’t Oppose Real Problems

    Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
    by Caitlin Johnstone

    “As self-styled ‘democratic socialists’ make some advancements in blue states, Republicans have launched a renewed fearmongering campaign about the urgent threat of ‘communism’ — an ideology with no meaningful political existence in the United States. At a speech on Wednesday, President Trump said that ‘communism is the greatest threat to our country’ and would lead to ‘the ultimate annihilation of civilization’. This is just the latest in a string of rhetoric from the president as he tries to drum up fear about progressive Democrats to prevent massive losses in the midterms. Democratic socialist politicians are still a small minority in US politics, and conflating them with communists is absurd. Communism seeks the complete dismantling of capitalism and the imperialist world order it holds in place at gunpoint, while western ‘democratic socialists’ typically just seek a gentler, more photogenic capitalist empire where things like healthcare and public transportation are funded by taxes.” (07/02/26)

    https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/07/02/they-fearmonger-about-communism-because-they-cant-oppose-real-problems/

  • America’s rich tradition of July Fourth protest is worth recalling

    Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
    by M Todd Bennett & David McKean

    “No Kings and other protests opposing the policies and executive overreach of the Trump administration continue to draw crowds across the country, most recently on Flag Day, June 14, which was also the president’s 80th birthday. While critics have denounced these demonstrators as un-American — House Speaker Mike Johnson called a 2025 No Kings march a ‘hate America rally’ — those voicing dissent, pushing for change and speaking truth to power are, in fact, participating in a tradition at our nation’s core. That tradition dates back to July 4, 1776, when the Continental Congress, citing a list of grievances, declared independence from the rule of a would-be despot, King George III.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/july-fourth-protest-20260702.html

  • The Declaration of Independence Versus America’s Immigration Police State

    Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
    by Jacob G Hornberger

    “This week — the week in which Americans celebrate the Declaration of Independence — U.S. immigration police arrested a Catholic nun in McAllen, Texas, as she was walking to Mass. They handcuffed her, confiscated her rosary, and incarcerated her. But before anyone reacts too harshly to such misconduct, let’s keep in mind some important points. It is the responsibility of the U.S. immigration police to keep us safe. Who’s to say that woman was really a nun? She could easily have been a Muslim fanatic disguised as a nun who was invading America to establish a worldwide caliphate and Sharia law. Indeed, she could have been a terrorist, drug dealer or, even worse, both — a narco-terrorist!” (07/02/26)

    https://www.fff.org/2026/07/02/the-declaration-of-independence-versus-americas-immigration-police-state/

  • On the Moral Foundations of America

    Source: Cato Institute
    by Roger Pilon

    “Of all that makes America—the subject of this symposium—nothing has been more crucial or consequential than our having constituted ourselves as a people on sound moral, political, and legal principles—the ‘self-evident truths’ set forth in our Declaration of Independence and then instituted through our Constitution as corrected by the Civil War Amendments—for those principles are the very foundation of our liberty. Yet many Americans today seriously misunderstand them, while still others reject even their preconditions—reason, objectivity, and free speech.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.cato.org/blog/moral-foundations-america

  • Living better, not just longer

    Source: Christian Science Monitor
    by staff

    “In an era of information overload, genuinely fresh news and concepts can occasionally get obscured by the ‘slop’. But eventually, thought-expanding data and perspectives rise to the surface and into wider public attention. This appears to be the case with a Yale University study on aging in America published in an academic journal in early March. The findings of ‘Aging Redefined’, now being reported in mainstream media, defy – and can help redefine – long-held and limiting views about the United States’ older demographic. Collecting data on some 11,000 participants over a 12-year period, the researchers found that nearly half of American adults age 65 or older became physically stronger, mentally more acute, or both. ‘If this finding was extrapolated to the entire US population, it would suggest that more than 26 million older persons are experiencing [such] improvement,’ the study’s authors noted.” (07/01/26)

    https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0701/Living-better-not-just-longer

  • Let’s Recapture the Spirit of 1976

    Source: Independent Institute
    by Robert M Whaples

    “In 1976, millions proudly recommitted themselves to the American experiment. Today, we should do the same.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.independent.org/article/2026/07/02/recapture-spirit-1976/

  • America, we’ll give our best to you

    Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
    by Tyler MacQueen

    “They could have died. We forget that now. After appeals to history and self-evident truths and the long train of abuses and usurpations, the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to a cause that was not certain. To an idea as radical as their revolution. To a notion of a nation yet to be built.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.fire.org/news/america-well-give-our-best-you

  • The Fight in the Democratic Party Is Not Left vs. Center, But Left vs. Left

    Source: Washington Monthly
    by Bill Scher

    “The recent string of primary victories from left-wing insurgents are not ushering out moderates, but fellow progressives.” (07/02/26)

    https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/07/02/dsa-democratic-party-the-left-vs-left/

  • Trump: Grifter in Chief

    Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
    by John Feffer

    “The Trump administration concluded a recent mineral deal with Kazakhstan that, not surprisingly, enriches not only President Donald Trump’s own family but that of his secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick. Trump’s two eldest sons, part owners of Dominari Securities, are set to profit from the Kazakh tungsten deal. So is Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment firm run by Lutnick’s two sons. As The New York Times pointed out in its investigation of the scheme, ‘Their sons were soon doing business with partners in a deal that their fathers were negotiating, continuing a pattern of self-enrichment in the second Trump administration that has few precedents in American history.’ The phrases (‘self-enrichment’ and ‘few precedents’) are interesting ways of characterizing this latest instance of the administration’s corruption. Isn’t self-enrichment a good thing, in the sense of profiting from your own hard work?” (07/01/26)

    https://fpif.org/trump-enrichment-syndrome/

  • The backlash to Iranian oil sanctions relief misses the point

    Source: The Hill
    by Brett Erickson

    “The Trump administration is currently coming under fire for their decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil, but the proposed alternatives have become detached from reality. The vocal opponents are treating the decision as though Washington willingly handed Tehran an enormous economic windfall beyond what they would earn regardless of sanctions being imposed. Some are now even pushing for the administration to retroactively amend the waiver by forcing Iranian oil revenues into escrow accounts, which is something Iran would never have agreed to. That may sound tough. It may sound politically appealing. It is also a great way to ensure the destruction of the agreement that reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Diplomacy is not about obtaining ideal outcomes. It is about obtaining achievable outcomes.” (07/02/26)

    https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/5949142-trump-admin-iran-sanctions-waiver/

  • A Colonial Coming of Age

    Source: Law & Liberty
    by James Wallner

    “This weekend, Americans will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country’s independence in nationwide celebrations featuring backyard barbecues, fireworks displays, and concerts. President Donald Trump echoed the sentiments of many patriotic revelers and underscored the Declaration’s centrality to America’s political identity when he described the event. ‘With a single sheet of parchment and 56 signatures, America began the greatest political journey in human history.’ But America didn’t begin its journey by declaring its independence. Before those 56 men signed the hallowed document, important events had already made independence a reality. By the summer of 1776, America was well on its way.” (07/02/26)

    https://lawliberty.org/a-colonial-coming-of-age/

  • Is the United States of America a Republic, and not a Democracy?

    Source: Liberal Currents
    by Steven L Taylor

    “Putting a meaningless distinction to bed.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.liberalcurrents.com/is-the-united-states-of-america-a-republic-and-not-a-democracy/

  • SCOTUS 2026 Term: A Power Grab in Legal Garb

    Source: Brennan Center for Justice
    by Michael Waldman

    “How will we remember this Supreme Court term? For Louisiana v. Callais, which demolished the 1965 Voting Rights Act. For near misses, too, as when the Constitution’s plain-language guarantee of birthright citizenship was recognized by only a bare majority of the justices. (As JD Vance crowed, that core protection is now ‘hanging by a thread’.) I think the term may be remembered most as a time when the supermajority of very conservative, very pro-business justices bent the shape of American government. It was a power grab in legal garb, undermining Congress, granting presidents more authority, but with key decisions ultimately in the hands of the nine unelected officials now redesigning government. In 2005, The New York Times Magazine published a story about a cadre of intense anti-government legal activists. They bemoaned ‘the Constitution in exile’, what they saw as an epic wrong turn in the 20th century.” (07/02/26)

    https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-court-chips-away-checks-and-balance

  • The Love of Lithium

    Source: Foundation for Economic Education
    by Sascha Hannig

    “[E]lectrification has become a tool of strategic resilience, but electrification—both in appliances and in alternative and green energy supplies—depends on batteries, and batteries depend heavily on lithium; and who owns lithium? Few are asking this question, and, most importantly, how it affects liberal countries, the state of democracy in the Global South, and international supply chains. This is why the lithium market now sits at the center of geopolitical competition.” (07/02/26)

    https://fee.org/articles/the-love-of-lithium/

  • There Are Very Few Socialists in America

    Source: Paul Krugman
    by Paul Krugman

    “Fox News has a poll supposedly showing ‘socialism gaining ground with young voters.’ But I don’t believe it. Young people may be more receptive to the word socialism, but that’s only because right-wingers constantly use that word to smear policies that have nothing to do with real socialism — i.e., government ownership of the means of production. The fact is that very few Americans — even among politicians who call themselves ‘democratic socialists’ — are really socialists. What many, I’d say a majority, of Americans support is what Europeans call social democracy — an ideology that is OK with living in a mostly market-driven economic system in which some people make much more money than others, but one that advocates policies to tame markets and inequality with progressive taxation, safety net programs, and regulations.” [editor’s note: Actually, socialism is defined as worker control, not government ownership, of the means of production. In STATE socialism, the state is a supposed proxy for the workers – TLK] (07/02/26)

    https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/there-are-very-few-socialists-in

  • Hype crazes

    Source: Adam Smith Institute
    by Madsen Pirie

    “I’ve been looking at cases where marketing hype has managed to create a craze for an at-best mediocre product. This is not to suggest that advertising is predatory; on the contrary, I think it provides a necessary service by providing information and allowing people to make choices. In the everyday business of buying clothes, food and drink, travel, luxury goods and grooming, I think it informs us of the availability of certain brands and the advantages to be gained by buying them. But there are some cases where advertising and cultural hype can create a kind of epistemic bubble where social conformity substitutes for quality judgement. Promoters sometimes draw on FOMO, the fear of missing out, to herd people into products of limited value to them.” ()7/02/26)

    https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/hype-crazes

  • What does it mean to be an American? Ask a conservative.

    Source: USA Today
    by Nicole Russell

    “America’s abundance is easy to admire. What’s easier to forget is that prosperity isn’t what made America exceptional. Liberty did. In much of the world, rights are treated as privileges the government grants to its citizens. In the American system, it’s the opposite: Rights are inherent to the individual, and the Constitution exists to dictate what government cannot do to you. It’s an extraordinary concept, and one conservatives have committed to upholding.” [editor’s note: Well, that there’s a spit take moment – TLK] (07/02/26)

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/07/02/america-250th-anniversary-liberty-conservatives/90737397007/

  • Surprise, Surprise. Government Capital Stock Is Deteriorating

    Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
    by William L Anderson

    “Federal IRS workers at the Chamblee Building are often greeted by rats struggling to free themselves from glue traps set about the workplace. Workers at the Veterans Affairs building in Hilo, Hawaii, are having to deal with dangerous infestations of mold. Federal employees in several places, including the Food and Drug Administration building in Washington, DC, are being exposed to Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. In Washington, DC, forty percent of the headquarters of the General Services Administration have been declared unsafe, which means the GSA has had to relocate many of its employees. And the list goes on and on.” (07/02/26)

    https://mises.org/mises-wire/surprise-surprise-government-capital-stock-deteriorating